Jay receives unexpected birthday gift in EastEnders as former character returns to screens

It was Jay Brown’s (Jamie Borthwick) 30th birthday in tonight’s episode of EastEnders, which hasn’t made us feel old at all.

The beloved character made his arrival way back in 2006. One of his first dramatic storylines saw him say goodbye to dad Jase Dyer, who was brutally murdered by a gang.

Jay was then brought up by Billy (Perry Fenwick) and Honey (Emma Barton), with the rest of the Mitchells eventually welcoming him into their family.

In recent years, focus for Jay was on his relationship with Lola Pearce (Danielle Harold) and her daughter Lexi (Isabella Brown). Their life changed forever in 2022 when Lola received a diagnosis of an incurable brain tumour.

What followed next was an absolutely devastating storyline that saw Lola’s friends and family come to terms with the fact her tumour was going to shorten her life.

It featured a desperate Ben (Max Bowden) attempting to find treatment overseas for the mother of his child, Lola and Jay got married, and ultimately tried to make the most of the time they had left together.

Lola died in May last year. Before her passing, she decided to create video messages to Jay and Lexi for important moments in their lives.

Previously, Lexi watched a video from her mum before she started high school and last Christmas, the Mitchells watched Lola reveal that she had signed Jay and Honey up for the London Marathon.

In tonight’s episode, Jay was playing another message from Lola to Kat (Jessie Wallace) and Phil (Steve McFadden).

In the clip, Lola was wishing Jay a happy birthday. The trio loved watching it but shortly afterwards, Jay announced he needed to get to work.

It was a reminder that as much as Lola is missed, her loved ones have adjusted to the grief they feel towards her loss and moved forward.

Because what is grief, if not love persevering?